Events

• February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope.
• The first book in Slovenian, Abecedarium, written by Protestant reformer Primoz Trubar, is printed in Tübingen, Germany.
• Nostradamus' first almanac is written.
• Helsinki, the capital of Finland is found by Gustav Vasa.

Births

• January 31 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, leader of French Catholic faction (d. 1588)
• April 22 - Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain of England (d. 1604)
• June 27 - King Charles IX of France (d. 1574)
• September 17 - Pope Paul V
• October 4 - King Charles IX of Sweden
• John Napier, Scottish mathematician

Deaths

• May 20 - Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Ashikaga shogun